Payroll record keeping

Records an employer must keep to meet various legislative requirements for retention of payroll records

Records that schools must keep to support annual financial statements.

The school's board of trustees, as the employer, is responsible for ensuring that records are kept. While payroll records and reports are available in the Novopay system, these do not meet legislative requirements, and a record-keeping system within the school is required.

Payroll records consist of both the inputs into and the outputs from each pay cycle. These are described below.

Records of payroll inputs

Payroll inputs are the instructions that are entered into Novopay each pay period, including leave, time sheets, salary and allowance changes, employee details changes, new appointments and terminations, etc.

Records of payroll outputs

Payroll outputs are the reports that are generated during each pay cycle. These reports are used to monitor activities during the pay cycle to ensure that the pay is correct.

It is recommended that you keep the reports for each pay cycle until at least after the annual financial audit is completed. After this, seek guidance from your auditor regarding their disposal. See Audit requirements for payroll records.

Record storage

The school must have a system for ensuring that the information held about its employees meets the required standard. For guidance, see Employment Records(NZSTA website).